The stories — and non-stories — behind the Pistons’ jersey numbers ORLANDO, FLORIDA – APRIL 02: Marvin Bagley

The stories — and non-stories — behind the Pistons’ jersey numbers
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – APRIL 02: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Detroit Pistons reacts to a call during the first half of a game against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center on April 02, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
The numbers can tell a story.

Statistics tell an on-court tale about a player. A jersey can give you a peak into someone’s life.

In Detroit, some players have personal meanings behind their jersey numbers. For a few, those meanings predate to their childhood. For others, it’s just a number.

Throughout the week, as the Pistons were in the thick of training camp, I asked almost every main-roster player how they settled on their individual numbers in at attempt to learn more about them as a person.

Here are their reasonings:

Cade Cunningham, No. 2: “It’s something I’ve been wearing since I was a kid. That was my first football number. From then on, I’ve had little nicknames growing up. I have two C’s in my name. There’s been a bunch of different things people call me. From then on, it’s just stuck with me.”

Monté Morris, No. 5: “I wore No. 5 when I was kid playing with Team Detroit. Now, I’m playing for the Detroit Pistons. It makes sense. When I played for Team Detroit, I was playing up (an age), and that was really the only jersey left.”

Killian Hayes, No. 7: “I used to wear No. 3 my whole life. Here, that number is retired. I got picked No. 7, and I was born in July, so, you know, lucky No. 7.”

Ausar Thompson, No. 9: “(Jalen) Duren had No. 0. There were not a lot of numbers because the team has a lot of retired numbers. Nine was the only single-digit number available, and I’m a single-digit-number guy. It was either No. 9 or 24, so I went with No. 9.”

Isaiah Livers, No. 12: “If I’m going to be straight with you, it’s because Cade took No. 2 from me. He had (higher-pick) priority, first dibs. He took No. 2, so 12 was the next closest thing available to 2, for real. Just add that the ‘1’ in front of it. That’s it.”

Isaiah Livers would have a different number if not for Cade Cunningham. (Rick Osentoski / USA Today)
James Wiseman, No. 13: “I had No. 13 in my childhood. I had been wearing that number. I changed to No. 32 in high school, No. 33 at Golden State, so I wanted to get back to No. 13. I (see it) as a new start, brand new beginnings. Same thing as when I was a child. That’s how I looked at it.”

Alec Burks, No. 14: “Not a story at all. There wasn’t one for No. 5, either. I wore No. 10 in college. I just get in where I can fit in.”

Jaden Ivey, No. 23: “It goes back to, as a young kid, I watched a lot of Michael Jordan. My mom loved Michael Jordan. I would watch clips of him in fourth, fifth grade. My fourth- and fifth-grade AAU teammates used to call me ‘Baby Jordan’ because I would always watch him, wear the arm band like him and the compression sleeve on the leg. That’s basically why.”

Marcus Sasser, No. 25: “It’s the number I was drafted at, so that’s why I’m going to stick with 25. I wore zero in college because I was a big fan of Russell Westbrook, so when I got to college, I decided to go with zero.”

Isaiah Stewart, No. 28: “There isn’t really a story behind it. … I picked No. 28. There aren’t that many people who wear No. 28. I decided to roll with that.”

Joe Harris, No. 31: “I’ve been 12 my entire career, but then I got here and, obviously, Livers is No. 12. They gave me a list of numbers when I got traded here and, to be honest, I forgot about it. They hit me up to pick a number after I forgot. I didn’t really think about it. I was scrolling, and I was always a big fan of Reggie Miller, being a shooter growing up, especially. I saw No. 31 and thought I could do that. However, one of my favorite players growing up, coincidentally, was Richard Hamilton. As you know, he was No. 32. So, I’ll be one off from 32 with No. 31. A little play on both of them.”

Marvin Bagley III, No. 35: “I’m not going to lie to you. There’s no big reason. I always wore No. 27 growing up, but when I got to high school, they said I couldn’t wear my number anymore. It had something to do with the referee rules. It had to do with foul calls, I think. I don’t know, but there was some rule where I wasn’t able to wear that number anymore. The next available number that looked somewhat cool was No. 35. I just ran with that and made it my own. I’m the third, I’m the middle of five kids. I made my own meaning behind it. Originally, it was just the only number left that looked cool to me. I wore No. 27 because my grandpa (Joe Caldwell). He wore No. 27 when he was with the Hawks and was an All-Star that year. I have the tattoo on my leg.”

Bojan Bogdanović, No. 44: “I cannot give you any specific reason. I’m sorry, brother, there is no story.”

(Top photo of Marvin Bagley III: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

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